In honor of Godzilla’s 70th anniversary, this year’s J-Talk Webinars are a series of interviews that center around the themes of Care & Consumption in relation to the King of the Monsters origins, history and cultural impact. Our third and final installment of the J-Talks: Godzilla Edition webinar series will happen on Wednesday, November, 20th at 7:00pm online via Zoom with Gabriel Coronado (pronouns: he/him), lifelong Godzilla fan & President of the Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program Alumni Association - Chicago. The 2024 J-Talks Webinar Series - Godzilla Edition is supported in partnership with the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) - Young Professionals Caucus (YPC) of the Midwest District Council (MDC).
Join us as we connect with JET alumni and members of the US-Japan community about how we interact with Japanese culture and how our perception evolves over time.
Featured Speaker: Gabriel Coronado (pronouns: he/him)
Born and raised in a mixed race family on the southwest side of Chicago, Gabriel Coronado has been watching Godzilla films as long as he can remember. Thanks to a father who spent his own childhood watching the original Showa era Godzilla films, Gabe grew up with all of the classic Godzilla films on VHS that his family could find. The interest in Godzilla inspired a broader curiosity about Japan’s culture and history and led him to pursue studying Japanese language and literature at Whitney M. Young High School and DePaul University.
After spending a year post-undergrad on the Japan Exchange and Teaching(JET) Program in southern Japan, Gabe returned to Chicago and found a career in event production, project management and community impact programming. Eventually, he became involved in the JET Program Alumni Association of Chicago as a volunteer helping at events before becoming President in 2019. As a leader in the local Japan-America community for the last 5 years, Gabe works hard to build community through mutual respect and understanding of other cultures.
Random G-Fan Facts about Gabe:
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) Young Professionals Caucus (YPC) of the Midwest District Council (MDC)
The JACL Midwest District Council (MDC) is a multigenerational gathering of Japanese American leaders from across the Midwest that organize community action, share resources and knowledge to advocate for civil and human rights of all those affected by injustice and bigotry. It is also the first district to officially sponsor and have an officer of the JACL Young Professionals Caucus (YPC). The MDC is the largest district region of the JACL covering 20 states with chapters in Illinois (Chicago), Ohio (Cleveland & Cincinnati), Michigan (Detroit), Indiana (Hoosier), Texas, Nebraska (Omaha), Missouri (St. Louis), Minnesota (Twin Cities) and Wisconsin (Milwaukee). Follow the JACL MDC instagram page @mdcjacl and JACL YPC @jaclypc
Founded in 1929, the JACL is the oldest and largest Asian American civil rights/social justice organization in the USA. The JACL has seven regional districts and is composed of over 100 chapters – including in Japan! Learn more about JACL National www.jacl.org
J-Talks: Godzilla Edition - Care & Consumption was inpsired by the Cultural Appreciation online series: Appreciation vs. Appropriation – a nuanced discussion on cultural ownership that was a collaboration between TCJACL (Twin Cities Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League) Social Justice Committee & Made By Yuki. Learn more, watch and listen to series on TCJACL's website: https://www.tcjacl.org/events/cultural-appreciation-discussion-series/
The J-Talks: Strengthening Ties Through Dialogue series centers around the themes of identity, social issues, cultural understanding and leadership, as experienced by JET alumni and individuals with meaningful connections to Japan. Launched in 2020, the JETAA Chicago webinars have highlighted topics such as Black Lives Matter Kansai, A Look Back to Move Forward: The Modern Day Importance of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Finding Japan in the Midwest and Mixed Multitudes: Mixed Race Identity in the US-Japan Community, Exploring Cultural Differences through Professional Wrestling, and more. Many of our J-Talks Webinars can be viewed and listened to via our JETAA Chicago YouTube Channel.
Additional Info:
Questions? Email info@jetaachicago.com.
Looking forward to having you join us the day of the event! ありがとうございます!
The JETAA Chicago Leadership
Online via Zoom
JETAA Chicago is the alumni association for past JET Programme participants that live in the Chicagoland area and two subchapter states of Wisconsin & Indiana. Majority of events and initiatives are for JET alumni, and there are some events that will indicate where the community and "Friend/Family of JET"(FOJ) are welcome to join. The JETAA Chicago Leadership Board can be contacted via email: info@jetaachicago.com For more frequently asked questions, go to https://www.jetaachicago.com/faq Thank you and let's #JETogether!
http://www.jetaachicago.com